Beginning Jan. 10, Lakeside Baptist Church will be offering GriefShare, a Biblically-based group offering support in overcoming loss.
“You won’t ever forget your loss, but grief recovery offers some practical information that can help you recover from the pain that you feel,” organizers said.
According to information from the church, grief is “that feeling of emptiness and exhaustion after you lose someone you love. Maybe you feel that you are doing OK most days, but other days you are just going through the motions, keeping up appearances, especially through the holidays, and feeling overwhelmed, hoping that time will eventually make you feel better.
The American Cancer Society is looking for Van Zandt County volunteers to drive patients to treatment appointments.
Getting to and from medical treatments is one of the greatest concerns cancer patients face, according to Cindy Goodson, Road to Recovery volunteer coordinator. To ensure patients get to those much-needed treatments, the American Cancer Society provides free rides through its Road to Recovery program.
The East Texas Chapter of Master Naturalist will hold its 2016 classes from 6 to 9 p.m. beginning Jan. 19 and continuing most Tuesday evenings through March.
There will be a few Saturday classes and three Saturday field trips, organizers said.
The classes will be held at the Tyler Nature Center, 11942 FM 848 in Tyler.
Classes will include topics such as archaeology, mammalogy, aquatic systems and native plants and forests.
The Library of Genealogy and Local History, maintained by the van Zandt County Genealogical Society is an off-site facility of the Van Zandt County Library. The genealogy library is located in the County Courthouse Annex on Groves Street in Canton.
The library is staffed by volunteer librarians who work a 3 and a half hour shift each week. There are usually two librarians available to assist patron in their research, if needed.
Other volunteer opportunities in the genealogical society are assisting in the research and publication of the society’s quarterly and various publications and helping with the annual seminar and beginner’s workshops.
Participating in the crime watch meeting were, from left, is Luvern Jagow, Deputy David Turner, Sgt. William Whitten, Paul Hood, Norman Irvin, Dianne Moreland, Pat Kelley, Gary Moore, Judy Kelsey, Sally Ronk, Terry Drygen, Jacqueline Vanderwind, Jim Aycock, Chief Deputy Buddy Oxford, Jackie Aycock and Steven Stewart (front).
In late November, a Hunt/Van Zandt County Neighborhood Watch Committee meeting was held at the Chapel of the Lake Church. Guest speakers were Chief Deputy Buddy Oxford, Investigator Beau Radney, Sgt. William Whitten and Deputy David Turner.
Sales tax revenue incomes for the month of December may not have been kind for most of Van Zandt County, but the late slide was not enough to derail what proved to be a strong year of gains for five out of six cities.
The city of Van lifted the heaviest load among county cities in the month of December according to information released by the office of Texas State Comptroller Glenn Hegar. Van sales tax revenues climbed a county best $20,638.09 when comparing monthly figures for December 2015 with those posted in December 2014.
During the Dec. 22 county commissioners meeting. Commissioner Pct. 4 Tim West once again asked for county departments to submit their respective monthly reports.
West, who said that the reports were “slipping again,” in regards to the amount of reports received, said that a monthly report by the offices and departments of the county was required by law to be submitted.
West also discussed with fellow commissioners about the need to discuss options on how to receive the reports.
The Wills Point Police Department is taking no chances as the calendar inches closer to the Christmas holiday and New Year’s Day, issuing another reminder this week regarding an influx of unlicensed solicitors that have flocked to the area recently. In a press release, the police department explained: “A marked increase of door-to-door salespersons have been frequenting the residential areas of Wills Point. These salespersons typically try to sell or get you to switch electric services, satellite TV providers, magazine subscriptions etc. The city of Wills Point requires these salespersons to get a permit to be allowed to go door-to-door within the city limits. However, the Police Department is finding that few ever apply for and get the required permit.”
Van Zandt County law enforcement officials marked another name off their list of wanted criminals this week, announcing the capture of Roger Conroy Dec. 14. Conroy was arrested in an ongoing arson and burglary investigation from incidents that took place in the Rolling Oaks subdivision near the Van Zandt and Hunt County lines. On Nov. 24, the office of Van Zandt County Fire Marshal Chuck Allen announced the capture of 42-year old Michael Lee Burgess had been arrested Nov. 24 for a series of charges that included child endangerment, engaging in organized crime and illegal outdoor burning, adding that law enforcement officials were searching for a second person, identified as Roger Conroy, on charges of arson, burglary of habitation, engaging in organized crime and child endangerment. At that time, Allen noted, “Conroy is known to live in and around the Rolling Oaks subdivision.”
The Wills Point ISD Board of Trustees met for the final time during the fall semester Dec. 14, hearing a series of district reports from Assistant Superintendent of Instruction and Accountability Amanda Wallace before turning the page to the second half of the 2015-’16 school year. After the traditional pledge to the flags, interim superintendent Randy Hancock, serving at his final meeting due to the hiring of Scott Caloss as the new permanent superintendent, took to the floor to offer up some final thoughts before his departure.
